Ending fees for public education
In 2007 we launched an effective public relations, litigation, and media campaign on the issue of unconstitutional school fees that place a burden particularly on low-income families. In 2008 the Virginia Board of Education agreed to revise its regulations—which hadn’t been revised since 1980—and school fees were fully eliminated by the cities of Roanoke and Harrisonburg. The final regulations made it clear that public school students may not be charged fees for instructional programs, and allows the charging of fees for optional activities and “consumable materials” only in conjunction with notice of a clear fee waiver policy for students experiencing financial hardship. These new regulations curbed some of the worst abuses and inconsistencies across and within school divisions